How you know...

Today, miraculously, I have no children at home. Seriously, not even ONE. I thought yesterday that I would be keeping Micah home today. His class was going to have 2 subs and since he's BRAND new... and a bit... not... easy... in addition to the aspiration and just concern for his safety, I was going to keep him home. But, I got a phone call this morning from his teacher saying their regular aide was going to be there and to send him in. So... off they ALL went for school :)

And I went to the grocery store.

But then... by 10:15 I was HOME, had the groceries unloaded, and had put away the cold items before crashing to the couch because that did me in! LOL

So... how you know that you're REALLY used to having kids with you...

• You open the side door to the car and look around before realizing what you're doing... there ARE NO KIDS to get out!
• You walk up to the house and try the handle. Kristopher didn't run to unlock the door, and there's not a grandmother on the other side with the kids (the usual situation if I don't have the kids!)
• You keep closing the door behind you on every trip in and out of the house so no one escapes... until you realize what a pain it is and that there's NO ONE to escape.
• You leave your keys in your hands for the first 2 trips to the car before realizing that no one will be locking you out of the house on accident either.
• You come in and put away half the groceries then realize you CAN take a break and no one will "help" unpack the rest of them for quite some time.

And... how you know you're almost 9 months pregnant...

• The "drop off rounds" at the school seems to be a cardio workout
• Pushing a full grocery cart isn't so bad because at least you have something to lean on
• Standing next to the car and pumping SLOW gas, then scowling at the machine when it fails to print your receipt brings a cautious older man waiting for your pump to make sure you're ok before he pulls in :) (nice man LOL)
• Climbing in and out of a 12 passenger van is no longer graceful. (hmm, was it ever?) 'Nuff said there
• When shopping, people stop and comment on their guess of the gender of the baby by "how you're carrying"... except 1/2 of them are wrong. (surprised?)
• When going anywhere with my children in tow, people begin counting heads, then drop their jaw when they realize the large belly hiding behind the triple stroller.
• Bringing in groceries is the follow-up to the cardio workout with weights.
• Putting away groceries involves doing squats. I'm telling you, you get more exercise while pregnant than not!
• Sitting down a minute is not simply getting in a chair, but getting a drink, the telephone, using the restroom first, and grabbing the computer to find a comfy spot on the recliner and put your feet up. Because if you need to sit down a minute, there's no way you're getting up for any of the above necessities for a little while...
• And lastly... when every time you sit down a certain... someone... decides it's her time to wake up and 'dance'. Oh my, does this little one ever have her days and nights mixed up too...